*A/N; Been having a bit of an issue with the next chapter of Big Bowl so thought cranking out something else Neo based might help. Here's hoping...
This one is also me trying my hand at a combat focused scene as I haven't done many of those in the past. Thanks go to my Beta and new friend Maxaro for his diligent work and fast response time.
So, I give you a quick jaunt into the mind of everyone's favorite silent antagonist. Musical inspiration this go round is 'Power Glove' and 'Rage Valley' by Knife Party.*
Roman gathers the large crowd of new White Fang recruits around a wide circular stage, only he and his petite companion, Neo, standing atop it, the only distinguishing feature in the otherwise drab warehouse.
"Alright settle down everyone, settle down..." He taps his long cane on the smooth wooden stage floor as the talking and muttering doesn't cease,"Hey shut up will ya?!" With a loud boom, his cane fires into the stage, blackening but not breaking it, meanwhile causing all conversation to cease and the room to fall into a pin drop silence.
"Great, now that I have your attention, welcome to our little family. You've all been briefed and given over to my command, and we'll certainly be beginning for real sometime tomorrow but first, I have a little competition for you all." He makes a grand sweep as he finishes, "Neo, if you would please?"
The woman in question stands from her folding chair on the stage, kicking it back like a horse and off the stage as she plants her lace umbrella, leaning gently upon it with a coquettish smile on her face.
'Ah hazing, my favorite part of new recruits.'
"First one to beat Neo here in a fight gets 4 months pay in cash." He shouts as he holds up a handful of Lien. "Fight her however you wish but only one person or group at a time. Got it?" A murmur of affirmative goes through the crowd as a few of them pull back towards the rear of the group.
'There's the smart ones.'
"Alright, who's first then?"
'First is the big meat head who thinks he'll get it easy.' Her chin never leaves her umbrella and her smile only grows as if on queue, a brick wall of a bear Faunus, easily topping 7 feet, lumbers up to the stage cracking his knuckles and pulling out a large warhammer. 'Like clockwork. This will be too easy~'
"This'll be too easy."
Her grin sweet smile turns sinister as she stands up straight, barely coming to above his waist. 'Tch, I won't even have to use my Semblance on this one.'
He stands there with his warhammer in both hands, glancing at Roman, unmoving. A few long seconds pass before the brute clears his throat loudly, causing Roman to look up, "What? I said fight how you want, this isn't some official match. It technically started once you stepped up big man. Look out by the way."
He barely gets out a confused 'huh' before Neo's long boot heel connects with his chin, throwing his head back and knocking him off his feet. The brute flies off the stage and into the hard concrete floor like a sack of bricks.
'Meat heads always have the thickest skulls but the softest heads.'
She gently lands back on the ground, coiling lightly onto one knee.
"Next." Roman calls from his seat on the sideline, not looking up from his cigar and magazine.
'Next comes the gung ho one with the small penis complex who's seen far too many vids. Don't underestimate me!~'
She giggles lightly at the thought as the next one, a monkey Faunus, steps up holding a massively oversized weapon and shouts, "Don't underestimate me!" causing the ice cream haired woman to roll her eyes and sigh.
He brings his oversized sword to bear in front of him, clearly draining Aura just to wield it. Once again Neo leans on her parasol, smiling sweetly at him.
"Don't you mock me!" A grunt of exertion and the weapon swipes at the short gal, til she ducks under it, grabbing the blunt edge and flipping up onto the weapon itself, balancing on its wide side.
She looks him in the eye, making a pair of jazz hands before dancing up and down on the blade as the swing continues on far beyond where it should have stopped.
"I'm not done yet!" His swing continues on, spinning him and his petite passenger around and around, picking up further speed.
'Now for the cheesey attack name'
"Whirlwind Striker!"
'Oh Dust, that's terrible even compared to the others I've heard.'
He lets go of the blade, slinging it far into the far wall, embedding to almost the hilt in the grey concrete, leaving the now weaponless attacker panting from exertion. "H-how do you like that!"
Roman once again looks up from his magazine disinterestedly, "Next."
"What?! But I beat her! I'm still standi-" He doesn't get to finish his bluster as Roman points upward, the gung ho fighter's eyes drifting upward to follow, settling on the wide Cheshire grin of an upside down Neo before she lets go, delivering a harsh spinning kick to his incredulous face.
The gung ho fighter crumples to the ground in a heap, looking like a shattered doll as Neo gently spirals backwards off of his body, landing with a delicate courtesy.
'Then the kid that thinks he's hard, edge-y and oh so dark.'
"Next!" Roman flips another page, chuckling at one of the articles.
A rail thin, pale skinned rat Faunus with a thick mop of badly dyed black hair steps onto the stage, holding a pair of quick looking daggers painted a bone white.
'Now the 'edge-y' name...'
"I am Night Shadow and I will-" he continues a 'dark' monologue as Neo stops paying attention.
'Wow... not even close to original... what is with kids these days. At least be creative with your emo- phase. Oh, is he still talking?'
"-nd even your defeat will not calm the demons that run rampant through my so-" Neo closes the distance in a heartbeat, staring him in the eyes and shaking her head. "B-but..." She shakes her head harder and points off the stage. "B-but, I am the sha-" She rolls her eyes and grabs his stick of a body heaving him off the stage.
"Next!"
'The team that hopes to overwhelm.'
5 new combatants step up, 3 female, 2 male, color coded so helpfully into white, blue, black, red, and green. "We're taking her down together."
"Whatever." The cane wielder dismissively waves them forward.
Neo daintily steps to the center of the stage, retrieving her dropped parasol as her opponents spread out, circling around her.
'Might actually have to try a little with these ones, use my Semblance if nothing else. Oh, they didn't pull weapons, means they're pure Dust users, this'll be interesting I hope.'
The 5 of them have finishes circling as Neo stretches and yawns, her parasol in hand, leaned against her back. The light 'paff' of a padded foot leaving the ground makes her grin grow.
'They're smart enough not announce their attacks, good.'
Her parasol unfurls behind her as the attackers fists slam into it, water and ice spraying from the sides.
'Still predictable though.'
With a twirl she comes face to face with the attacker, the red garbed one. Her surprise flickers momentarily on her face before returning to its Cheshire mask.
'Oh, tricky... I love it.'
Green, seeing that moment of surprise, smiles and pushes her attack. Swinging a water wrapped fist, she only narrowly avoids Neo's stomach as she arches her back away from the strike, only to twist and writhe again as a feeling of heat closes in on her back.
Her body bends at near impossible angles as she flips out of the center fracas, coming to a dainty landing on the edge, getting all 5 of them in her sights.
'Green is black, Red is blue, Black is white, White is red, and Blue is green. The switch around is a nice touch. Going to enjoy this fight a bit.'
Her parasol retracts with a click as she stares at her attackers, now approaching as one.
'They're well coordinated, means they won't be so good on their own. Need to take out one of them so the rest will crumble. Hmmm... Red and White are physicals, no danger there. Green and Black are probably support. Blue is a long ranger, minimal threat as long as I keep him in front of me, and possibly my weak point, to exploit...'
The team spreads out while Neo stares and thinks. Blue stays far across the stage, her hands glowing green as rock coalesces around her, Green and Black stand off to the sides forming a triangle with Blue, while Red and White close in on opposite sides of the petite fighter.
Blue barking out orders snaps the ice cream woman from her thoughts, "Izze, Boro, go! Orz, Gol, keep on me!"
Her smile once again widens, 'Oh, and you're the leader? Hello Target' The diminutive girls frame distorts around her edges, as if a heat wave was rolling off of her, 'Let me just slip into something a bit more comfortable.'
Red and White dash in on Blue's command, attempting to take down their opponent before she can finish whatever she seems to be doing. Too late though as they pass right through her hazed form, confused. "Where'd she go?" Their heads repeatedly turn on a swivel, looking for any sign of their parasol wielding opponent.
A light, almost icy giggle whispers past each of their ears, causing a few to jump while others whirl around, swinging on thin air while the leader tries in wain to wrangle his startled teammates.
Another giggle fills the warehouse, startling several of the new recruits still watching the ongoing fight.
'Fear of the unknown, such a useful tool.'
The only ones seemingly unaffected are Roman, who's still casually flipping through his magazine, and a hooded figure standing amidst the crowd of recruits.
She appears behind a still searching Black, giggling lightly as the others notice and Blue throws a long spike of glimmering crystal... which passes harmlessly through her as yet another illusion dissipates in a shatter of glass.
She fazes in behind Red, blowing a kiss to White, who swings a meaty fist, shattering it.
Behind Green, making silly faces.
Behind White, doing a bouncy little dance.
She doesn't reappear for a moment, her laughter just filling the warehouse once again. 'Take the bait...'
"She'll be behind me next, don't fall for it, keep your heads on a swivel!"
'Ahhh, hook, line and sinker...'
She steps from her illusory Semblance behind their blue garbed leader, watching as they pay her no mind, a smile once again touching her face.
She leans in very close to the leader, close enough that she can feel her breath on her ear as she giggles once again.
A gasp leaves her lips as she tries to shouts to her comrades, before Neo's parasol connects with the small of her back, bending her spine backwards and into Neo's grasp and allowing the flexible fighter to spin across her front and bodily hurl Blue into Red, knocking them both off the stage, into the concrete wall and giving just the momentary surprise, the mere blink that she needs to be upon the remaining close ranger.
'Now the dominoes fall quickly.'
She smiles viciously he swings at her, only to take a parasol to the groin and a heel to the foot, his shock and pain showing all across his face. She drops to a sliding crouch and hooks his leg with the handle of her parasol, pulling him off balance and leaving him open for the bone crushing blow to the spine, rendering him immediately unconscious from the shock.
The cute woman, then stands and turns her gaze to the supports, both staring at her wide eyed. She mouths the word, 'Boo...' and they turn tail and flee, gathering their fallen teammate from the stage and running to their still unconscious comrades embedded in the wall.
Roman glances up from his magazine. Having finished it, he stands and announces to the gathered recruits. "Alright, that's it? Good we can g-"
Another challenger, the hooded figure from before steps onto the stage.
'Oh? Another challenger ever after that fight, and single at that? Unexpected so I guess I'll humor whoever this is.'
"Alright, whatever buddy, your funeral." He sits back down, motioning for them to proceed.
The hooded figure unsnaps the single button holding his cloak on, letting it drop to the ground and reveal his features.
The figure, male, is garbed in a green and black chinese tailcoat, its gold highlights shining dimly in the low warehouse light, the pink cuffs standing out the most but at the same time complimenting the long magenta streak through his hair and his magenta eyes, the serene appearance of Lie Ren.
He flexes his arms beneath the long sleeves just right and a small green bladed SMG emerges from each wrist. He pulls a very stable stance and nods to her, his eyes showing an inner calm and resolve that's a little surprising to the petite ice cream haired woman.
"Hey, he's not a Faunus!" A voice calls from the crowd.
"Doesn't mean he can't be with your cause. Could be doing it for the same reason I am." Roman tosses back. The two on the stage don't even flinch as the exchange continues, focused solely on each other.
'Not half bad, good form, proper stance, kinda cute... oh I'm going to have a little fun with you."
'Illusionist, Timing is key here. Its all about time...'
'He looks so serious, almost feel sorry the guy... almost.' She blows a kiss and a wink his way, to no reaction. She sighs and rolls her eyes.
'Let's go!'
Both Neo and Ren move at the same time, she jumps out of phase again, leaving an afterimage behind while Ren opens fire on it, causing her grin to only grow as she arcs through the air.
Time seems to slow down as the image begins to shatter and his left arm changes position coming to focus squarely on her still hidden form. Her eyes widen in surprise as she pulls her parasol to the front, open to stop the now incoming fire.
'How?' The small dust rounds pelt her lacy shield, knocking her back into phase and the visible spectrum.
She lands daintily upon the stage, her face showing her incredulity but a different type of smile at the same time. 'I like this one, probably a fluke but still.'
"She bends light but not sound, phasic shift leaves her airy, easy to hear."
She winks again and she steps out of phase this time, moving backwards across the stage, avoiding a traceable arc.
This time Ren ignores the illusion entirely, instead training his weapons on Neo's invisible form and unloading into her.
Her parasol is already up and stopping the rounds as she becomes visible once again, but the boy is not idle this time, closing the gap until he is within melee range and doing a running slide under the parasol still letting the rounds fly for the briefest of moments before hooking her ankles behind the blades of his guns and pulling her off her feet.
The look of shock from everyone in the room, including Roman who's cigar has dropped to the floor, is nearly palpable as her legs leave the ground and she begins to fall...
Quick to recover though, she plants her hands and springs forward back onto her feet, spinning to face her rapidly approaching opponent, parasol sword drawn.
'Drop on me once, shame on me. Drop on me twice, not going to happen.'
The two close to melee range and engage in the deadliest of dances, swings, swipes, jabs, and slashes fill the air between the two, there bodies curving and writhing in this ballet of blades.
Neo jabs and he twists, she slashes and he arches his back, the two come close for a low swing and come apart in the dodge, sweat flying from their bodies as their duel continues, each move getting a counter from the other.
The entire warehouse is silent except for their breathing and the whistling of the cut air, until a loud clashing clang resounds, shattering the thin quiet.
Their weapons are locked together, shaking from the exertion as both try to win the silent power struggle, the sheen of sweat thick on their bodies. Their eyes meet and Neo smiles at Ren's hard expression. Ren smiles a little and looks down at her chest just long enough to draw her eyes as well in curiosity. The momentary distraction is all he needs to bring his knee up into her chin, slipping his blade off her sword as she reels back from the sudden blow.
The black haired boy presses his attack, slashing at her now open midsection before dropping his weapons to grab her shoulder and the back of her thigh and flip her into the ground and onto her stomach, pinning her arms behind her back.
Neo can only smile widely in shock. 'This kid got me, I should just toss him with my legs but I kinda like being like this...' She taps her foot three times on the ground.
"That's it kid. She's tapping out. Ya won... good job."
A panting and tired Ren stands from the pinned Neo, grabbing his weapons to be re-holstered in his sleeves before offering his opponent a hand up, which she takes with a firm grab and the crinkle of paper.
Roman steps onto the stage, nodding appreciatively. "I'm surprised but here ya go. The prize is yours." He holds out a stack of colorful Lien cards. "4 months pay for a new recruit." He returns his gaze to the crowd of shocked recruits. "That's it kiddies. Get back here tomorrow for the real deal!" He claps his hands together and turns around and walks off the stage, Neo in tow but with a definite sway to her hips and a glance over her shoulder.
Ren lets out a shuddering sigh as everyone filters out of the warehouse and towards their various homes, leaving him walking slowly down a lonely stretch of sidewalk out of the industrial district.
He finally unclenched his fists as he leaves the warehouse, taking a look at the scrap of paper in his hand, a number and a message written on it, 'Call me so we can have some more fun -Neo'
Another sigh passes his lips as the clock strikes midnight and the bell begins to toll, "Great... now I've got another one." He pockets the slip of paper. "At least Nora will enjoy her birthday present." With a gentle pat of his now full wallet, the dark haired boy makes the long walk home.
A/N: Ok, I have to give this out for all my MTG playing fans, look up Naked Singularity, proceed to chuckle. Otherwise, I hope that this has been an enjoyable diversion and I hope that this will spark me back into Big Bowl so I can finally push out another chapter. May the night see you safe and the dawn greet you kindly my dear readers.